Sunday, November 5, 2006

“Look for the ridiculous in everything and you will find it.” ~ Jules Renard

Things have changed a lot since I was young. There are a lot more cars and drivers on the roadways then there ever used to be, the cost of everything has skyrocketed, it's now socially acceptable to dress your kids in trashy Halloween costumes, minimum wage is still pathetic but a far cry from what it used to be, and now I have discovered that if you live in Germany and don't have the guts to break off a relationship with someone on your own, you can hire some guy to do it for you.

In an on-line article from ABCNEWS.com entitled "Breaking Up? Not So Hard to Do", the writer introduces us to Bernd Dressler of the Separation Agency in Berlin. For prices ranging from $25 for a phone call to your intended-ex to $65 for the full package that includes Herr Dressler going over to pick up your personal belongings, you can now take the chicken way out of dumping someone you no longer wish to have in your life.

You have got to be kidding me ...

If there was any doubt in mind at all that we had become a society that shuns the personal touch this article more than removes it. Granted, breaking up with someone is never easy as you have to face those nasty little things we like to call emotions but come on now - how much more impersonal can you get than to hire some total stranger to call or go over to the person you've actually been in a relationship with to say "hey, it's been fun but it's the end of the line for me." I can only imagine how some poor unsuspecting person would feel to have the "Relationship Terminator" show up on their doorstep to announce Hasta la Vista, Baby! (Insert name here) will not be back. And oh, while I'm at it, I need to pick up his/her belongings ... Wow - talk about a slap in the face!